NCL scraps Premium All Inclusive after two years

I was surprised to see this in the travel press last week…………..

Norwegian Cruise Line is scrapping its ‘Premium All Inclusive’ pricing concept after two years and replacing it with a new ‘Free at Sea’ programme which it claims offers greater flexibility and allows agents to earn more.

The ‘Free at Sea’ programme requires customers to pay £99 to access two benefits which the line claims are worth more than £700.

The programme is already operating in all markets outside Europe, but will expand to the UK and Ireland, and the continent, from April 2.

Customers can choose two of the following:

• A premium drinks package, worth up to US$99 per person, per day, including gratuities and service charges
• Speciality dining for three nights of a seven-night sailing, worth $89 per person, including gratuities and service charges
• Free WiFi, up to 250 mins per stateroom on a seven-night basis.
• US$50 dollars on board credit per stateroom, per port, to spend on shore excursions
• The third and fourth passenger in a stateroom, sails for the cost of taxes only (selected sailings only)

Guests sailing in NCL’s top stateroom classes (Haven, Concierge or suites) would automatically be eligible for all five. The Free At Sea upgrade is fully commissionable to agents.

Under its Premium All-Inclusive offer, which was introduced in April 2017, unlimited premium drinks, service charges and gratuities were included in the fare.

The £99 Free At Sea upgrade is available on all cabin types.

• It will be interesting to see how this affects the overall price of their cruises, obviously prices did increase two years ago when NCL went all-inclusive, so will the prices now drop to reflect the fact that passengers will have to pay extra for their benefits? it will certainly be fairer for people not wanting any of the additional benefits as previously they couldn’t select cabin numbers, only book on a guarantee basis, but under the new scheme they will be able to pick a cabin.
• Love to hear what you tink about this change!